Douay–Rheims Bible
| Douay–Rheims Bible | |
|---|---|
Title page of the Old Testament, Tome 1 (1609) | |
| Full name | Douay Rheims Bible |
| Abbreviation | DRB/DRV |
| Language | Early Modern English |
| OT published | 1609–1610 |
| NT published | 1582 |
| Authorship | English College at Rheims and Douay |
| Derived from | Latin Vulgate |
| Textual basis |
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| Translation type | Formal equivalence translation of the Vulgate compared with Hebrew and Greek sources for accuracy. The 1582 version used the Leuven Vulgate. The Challoner revision used the Clementine Vulgate. |
| Reading level | University Academic, Grade 12 |
| Version | Revised in 1749, 1750, and 1752 by Richard Challoner (DRC) |
| Copyright | Public domain |
| Religious affiliation | Catholic Church |
In the beginning God created heaven, and earth. And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved over the waters. And God said: Be light made. And light was made.
For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting. | |
The Douay–Rheims Bible (/ˌduːeɪ ˈriːmz, ˌdaʊeɪ -/, US also /duːˌeɪ -/), also known as the Douay–Rheims Version, Rheims–Douai Bible or Douai Bible, and abbreviated as D–R, DRB, and DRV, is a translation of the Bible from the Latin Vulgate into Early Modern English by members of the English College, Douai as a Counter-Reformation effort. The New Testament portion was published in Rheims, France, in 1582, in one volume with extensive commentary and notes. The Old Testament portion was published in two volumes in 1609 and 1610 by the University of Douai. The first volume, covering Genesis to Job, was published in 1609; the second, covering the Book of Psalms to 2 Maccabees (spelled "Machabees") and the three apocryphal books of the Vulgate appendix following the Old Testament (Prayer of Manasseh, 3 Esdras, and 4 Esdras), was published in 1610. Marginal notes on translation and the Hebrew and Greek source texts of the Vulgate compose majority portions of the edition. In 1589, William Fulke collated the complete Rheims text and notes in parallel columns with those of the Bishops' Bible. This work sold widely in England, prompting re-issue in three further editions by 1633. Fulke's editions of the Rheims New Testament were of crucial significance to 17th-century English exegesis.
Much of the first edition employed Latin vocabulary, rendering it particularly difficult to read. Consequently, a revision of the translation was undertaken by Bishop Richard Challoner: the New Testament in three editions of 1749, 1750, and 1752; and the Old Testament (minus the Vulgate apocrypha) in 1750.
Subsequent editions of the Challoner revision contain minor changes to the text. Challoner's New Testament was extensively revised by Bernard MacMahon in a series of Dublin editions from 1783 to 1810. These Dublin versions were the source for some Challoner Bibles printed in the United States in the 19th-century.
Subsequent editions of the Challoner Bible printed in England most often follow Challoner's earlier New Testament texts of 1749 and 1750, as do most 20th-century printings and online versions of the Douay–Rheims Bible circulating on the internet.
Although the Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible Revised Edition, Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition, New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition, and English Standard Version Catholic Edition are the most commonly used Bibles in English-speaking Catholic churches, the Challoner revision of the Douay–Rheims often remains the Bible of choice for more traditional English-speaking Catholics.